Co-Founder and CTO at OKCoin, at the time China’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Binance’s offices are currently based out of Malta, but the site offers multi-lingual support and operates around the world. In fact, in the 45 days after their launch, Binance revealed the United States was their largest customer base.

The worldwide cryptocurrency community seems to love Binance, with it breaking well into the top 10 cryptocurrency exchanges in less than half a year. Today, the exchange typically ranks within the top 2 positions in terms of daily trade volume.

Binance Pros and Cons vs the Competition

Pros of Binance

1) More Cryptocurrencies Available Than Most (100+)

Binance offers trading for over 100+ cryptocurrencies, far more than the average exchange. Trading pairs are denominated in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether (USDT cryptocurrency), and BNB (Binance’s native cryptocurrency). This exchange is perfect for those looking to invest in less popular coins.

2) Very Low Fees

The trading fees on Binance are some of the lowest we’ve come across, at just 0.1%. See the table below to compare fees among other popular altcoin exchanges.

3) Easy Verification and KYC

Only your email address is required to create an account. With just this information, you can withdraw the equivalent of 2 BTC every 24 hours. You can further increase your limit to 100 BTC / 24 hours by completing their KYC verification process.

4) Relatively Easy to Use

When comparing Binance with other cryptocurrency exchanges that support trading a lot of cryptos, we feel it’s the most intuitive and easy to use option of the group. Binance has a basic interface that makes trading on the platform straightforward.

Binance is also one of the only exchanges of its kind to offer a mobile app.

5) Highly Liquid Markets

As previously mentioned, Binance has some of the largest trade volume of all exchanges. This results in most Binance markets being highly liquid, allowing you to easily buy or sell the cryptocurrency you want to trade.

This is particularly important for small market coins. You may find that other exchanges don’t have enough buyers or sellers to allow you to complete an order at a reasonable price.

6) Above Average Support

Due to the insane rapid growth in cryptocurrency, many exchanges have struggled to keep up with customer support demands from their growing user bases.

In our experience and what we see expressed across the internet, Binance currently provides above average customer support. As a global exchange, they offer customer support in a variety of languages including English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Russian, and French.

Cons of Binance

1) No Fiat Currency Support

Binance does not allow users to deposit, withdraw, or trade fiat currencies (USD, EUR, Etc.). If you don’t already own cryptocurrency or you just want to buy more with fiat, then Binance is not an option.

There’s currently no large exchange with fiat currency support that offers anywhere close to the number of cryptocurrencies Binance does. If you’re looking to trade a variety of altcoins, we recommend first using another exchange to buy Bitcoin or Ethereum, then trading that on Binance.

How to Use Binance to Buy Cryptocurrencies

In the following guide, we’ll show you step-by-step how to go from creating an account to buying cryptocurrency on Binance.

1) Sign Up

The signup process on Binance is as easy as can be. All that’s requires is a valid email address and to create a password.

You’ll then need to verify your email by clicking the link emailed to you by Binance.

2) Enable 2-Factor Authentication (2FA)

It’s always recommended that you enable 2FA when using any cryptocurrency exchange. 2FA gives you an extra layer of security to help protect your account from malicious login attempts.

You’ll likely be met with a prompt to set this up when you first log into your account.

2FA can also be set up through your account’s setting page.

Binance offers a 2 BTC equivalent withdrawal limit every 24 hours. This means you can withdraw any cryptocurrency worth up to 2 BTC every 24 hours.

If you need higher limits, this process can also be started from your account settings page. You’ll be required to give your name and upload identity verification documents. After completing this process, you’ll be allowed to withdraw the equivalent of 100 BTC / 24 hours.

3) Deposit Cryptocurrency onto Binance

Binance offers trading pairs for most cryptocurrencies in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether (USDT), and BNB. This means that you can use those cryptos to buy other altcoins.

To deposit on Binance, locate the “Deposit & Withdrawals” page under “Funds” in the main menu of your account (1). Here you’ll be able to deposit any cryptocurrency supported by Binance. In this example, we’re depositing Ethereum (ETH).

Use the search bar to find the cryptocurrency you want to deposit (2), then click the deposit button next to that cryptocurrency (3).

Send the specified cryptocurrency to the address provided. In this example, we’re sending 1 ETH to our Binance account.

Note: Always make sure to send cryptocurrency to the correctly labeled wallet. For example, do not send Bitcoin (BTC) or Ethereum Classic (ETC) to an Ethereum address (ETH).

Once you’ve sent your cryptocurrency, your pending deposit will be shown on your account’s “History” page. Each cryptocurrency requires a certain number of block confirmations before being credited to your account.

In the case of Ethereum, Binance requires 30 confirmations. This usually takes about 5 minutes. Due to its faster block times, Ethereum is almost always a much faster option that Bitcoin. The only exception is when the Ethereum network is experiencing congestion.

Once your deposit has been completed, you can then use the deposited crypto to buy another crypto.

Locate the exchange in the main menu (1). Binance offers two exchange views, “Basic” and “Advanced”. We recommend using the basic view.

Next search for the cryptocurrency you want to buy in the trading pair menu (2). Make sure to select the pair that corresponds with the crypto you’re using to make your purchase. In this example we’re using Ethereum to Buy LISK (LSK), so we’ve found the “LSK/ETH” trade pair. Click on the pair you want to trade to be taken to the corresponding page.

Use the Buy order form to purchase your chosen cryptocurrency (3). There are two types of orders you can place, Limit and Market Order.

A market buy order simply requires you to enter the amount of your chosen crypto that you want to purchase. Binance then automatically fills your order at the best available price.

A buy limit order requires you to enter both the amount you want to purchase and the maximum price you’re willing to pay. With a limit buy order, there’s no guarantee your order will be filled because there needs to be someone willing to sell it at the price you’ve specified. You can however cancel an unfilled order at any time.

Binance’s 0.1% fee will be taken out of the crypto you purchased. In this example, I received 4.995 LSK of the 5 I purchased. The remaining .005 LSK goes to Binance for the fee.

After your buy order has been filled, the cryptocurrency will be immediately available for withdraw from your account’s “Deposit & Withdrawals” page. Simply click the “Withdrawal” button, then enter the amount you want to withdraw and the address to send it to.

Binance Review Summary

While Binance is a very new exchange, most users could not be happier with the service they’ve provided. Binance offers the ability to trade a huge variety of cryptocurrencies on a well functioning platform.

For those looking to save on trading fees, Binance offers some of the lowest fees we’ve come across.

The main concern with Binance is just the fact that it’s so new. While doing a great job since launching, the exchange hasn’t been able to build the long-standing trust of some competitors. With that said, it’s reasonable to envision a future where Binance is a dominating force in the cryptocurrency exchange market.

Binance Review

Community Trust Grade

User Experience

Available Cryptocurrencies

Deposit/Withdrawal Methods

Security

Fees

Customer Support

4.1

Summary

Binance is our favorite exchange option for frequent traders and altcoin investors. Binance’s low fees and easy to use platform put it ahead of all competitors we’ve reviewed.

Disclaimer: UNHASHED strives to keep its information accurate and up to date. The information found on UNHASHED may be different than what you see when you visit a cryptocurrency exchange, wallet, or other cryptocurrency product's site. When visiting a third party site from UNHASHED, please be sure to review their site's terms and conditions. UNHASHED is not responsible for any financial losses or gains you may have when investing in cryptocurrency. Always use your best judgement when investing any cryptocurrency and when using any cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets, or other products.